Canal-boat propulsion.



No. 658,892; Patented Oct. 2, I900.

. J. B. ENTZ.

CANAL BOAT PROPULSION.

.lApglication filed Feb. 10I 1900.)

(No Model.)

NITE D STATES" PATENT OFFICE,

JUsrUsB, ENTZ, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CANAL-BOAT PROPULSION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,892, dated October 2, 1906.

Application filed February 10,1900. Serial No. 4,734. (No model.)

the use of a propeller on a canal-b0 's undesirable because of the efiectun the banks of the canal of the wash pr ced by the propeller. Therefore it is us ial to have canalboats of the ordinary character taken in tow by towboats when they reach a naturalwater- Way. It is obvious that there are objections to this system and that on some accounts it would be advantageous to permit the towboat, or at least a self-propelled freight-carrier, to pass through the artificial waterway. There are also objections to the present system of towing canal-boats through the artificial Waterways.

It is the object of this invention to overcome the objections above alluded to and make it possible for a vessel Which carries its own source of motive power to be towed through an artificial waterway without the use of a propeller and to be driven through a natural waterway by a propeller. To this end a vessel having a propeller and adapted for passage through both artificial and natural waterways is provided with a prime mover, an electric generator, and means for coupling and uncoupling the prime mover to and from,

either the propeller or the electric generator at will, the generator being electrically connected with a motor mounted upon and driving a dirigible tractor adapted to run upon the canal-bank and with which the vessel is mechanically connected when the vessel is in the artificial waterway or canal.

The invention will be further explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, representing a canal-boat equipped with the prime at C and at D.)

mover, a propeller, and an electric generator and connected both electrically and mechanically with an electric dirigible tractor on the canal-bank; and Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof.

The vessel B may be of anysuitable size and character, according to its intended use as a towboat alone, or a freight carrier, or as both combined. It is provided with a suitable propeller C, an ordinary electric generator D, and a suitable prime mover E-such, for example, as a gas-eugine the said prime mover being capable of being coupled or uncoupled at will to or from the propeller or the electric generator by means of suitable independent coupling devices, (represented, respectively,

The tractor F may be an electric locomotive of anysuitable character, having an electric motor (represented at G) and by preference a suitable controller, (represented at H.) The vessel is mechanically connected with the tractor when in the canal by a suitable tow-line I, and circuit connections (indicated at K) are then provided between the generator D and the motor G, a switch is being included in such circuit connections on the vessel for use in emergencies.

No attempt has been made to illustrate details of construction in any respect, since all of such details may be of any usual or preferred kind or form. It will be understood that while the vessel is in the canal the prime mover is coupled to the electric generator and the current generated is transmitted to the motor which drives the tractor, the vessel being then mechanically connected to the tractor. When the vessel reaches a natural waterway the tractor is disconnected, both electrically and mechanically, and the prime mover is uncoupled from the electric generator and coupled to the propeller.

I claim as my invention-- 1. The combination with a vessel adapted to traverse artificial and natural Waterways and to be connected mechanically to a landtractor, of a propeller, an electric generator adapted to be connected electrically with the motor of said tractor, a prime mover, and means to couple said prime mover to or from said propeller or said generator at will.

2. The combination with a vessel adapted to traverse artificial and natural waterways, a dirigible, electric land-tractor, and a mechanical connection from said vessel to said This specification signed and witnessed this tractor, of a propeller for said vessel, an elec- 6th day of February, A. D. 1900. tric generator on the vessel and adapted to be connected electrically with the motor of JUSTUS ENTZ' 5 said tractor, a prime mover, and means to In presence of couple said prime mover to or from said pro- J. A. BRADLEY, peller or said generator at will. FRANKLIN T. KALAS. 

